FAQ's & Subscription Info
What makes your publication so special?
You do. By showing up every week, getting down on your mat, and giving yourself the time and space to…wait for it…move, think, sense, and feel.
While I may occasionally post an informative article, my promise to you is that the MOVE THINK SENSE FEEL PODCAST, which will go out weekly on Sundays, will be a space for you to discover yourself. The lessons are a framework, but the experience is subjective and entirely your own.
How long are the lessons:
Most will fall between 40 and 60 minutes, but there may be the occasional longer or shorter lesson. I sometimes also offer mini-lessons, about 5-10 minutes, which you can do if you need to take a wellness break in the middle of a busy day.
What is this training anyway?
Awareness Through Movement® is a form of somatic learning that involves performing gentle movement patterns with attention to how the movement integrates throughout the body. Very often, the lessons can lead to improved function and can help ease persistent pain brought on by maladaptive body use.
Is it safe?
For most people, yes it is. However, as with all physical forms of training, it is advisable to consult with your physician if you have any concerns about your ability to participate safely.
Will I lose weight?
No. The lessons are exceedingly gentle. They will re-pattern your movement, not build muscle or get your heart rate up.
Is it like yoga?
Well, you will lie on a mat, but the similarity ends there. Best to try it and see for yourself. But let me add that studying this work can deepen your experience of yoga and virtually any other movement-related activity.
How long have you been doing this?
I am Andrea Higgins, a somatic education specialist with over twenty years of experience, and your teacher for this weekly series. I have been teaching Awareness Through Movement since 2003. Before that, I taught Pilates and dance for many years. I graduated from a Professional Feldenkrais Training Program (with over 800 hours of study) in 2005.
How long before I start seeing results?
Almost everyone who has ever contacted me to inquire about lessons asks the same question: How long will it take before I start to feel better? And I always answer the same way. I don’t know. But, based on my experience watching hundreds of students over many years, here’s a general guideline:
Initially (1 to 3 lessons): You will experience greater ease of movement. A reduction of chronic pain is likely. This may last a few hours or even into the next day. However, as your habits take over during your daily routine, your symptoms may return.
In the first few months (4 to 12 lessons): Most individuals report that chronic pain issues have diminished. Flare-ups of symptoms occur, but repeating the lessons generally resolves discomfort. An increase in kinesthetic awareness begins to surface as well. For example, many students report improved balance and coordination has improved.
With continued practice (13 to 32 lessons): The chronic pain issues or body concerns that originally brought someone to me have, more often than not, melted away entirely. At the very least, they are vastly improved and are resolved quickly with a return to the mat.
As this process becomes a regular part of your life (32 + lessons): Your attention to self-care will become uncompromising, your self-image will improve, and your sense of what is possible will begin to expand.
Can I start anytime?
Yes. If you are new to MOVE THINK SENSE FEEL and have never done Awareness Through Movement, I strongly recommend you begin with the 4-Part Introductory Series. This series will provide foundational information and prepare you for all future lessons. There will be an ongoing progression to the lessons over time, so I recommend that you go in order. That being said, each 4-week session will be self-contained, so after the Introductory Series, you can sample at will according to your interests and needs. You can find the Intro lessons here:
What if I’m in pain right now?
I’m sorry. Don’t give up hope. I do think these lessons may help you—perhaps in ways you can’t even imagine right now. But there are a few important things to keep in mind.
The lessons serve you, you don’t serve the lessons. What I mean by that is there is no right or wrong here. There is nothing to perfect. There is only an invitation to connect to yourself and be guided by your sense of ease and comfort.
There is only one rule: don’t ever do anything that causes you any discomfort! I will discuss ways to modify the lessons or the resting positions as we go along. But if you simply can’t get comfortable, you should stop and rest. That lesson on that day may not be right for you.
This is an educational intervention, not a medical one. I am not a doctor or physical therapist. If you have concerns about your ability to participate safely, you should always consult your physician. You might also want to seek out a Feldenkrais teacher who can work with you privately until your body is ready for self-guided study, such as we will be doing here.
Can you talk about the subscription levels?
With pleasure.
FREE LEVEL
The free level is an extension of a blog that I started some years ago, but I was always so busy teaching that I just didn’t have time to do a lot of writing. I have selected a few posts that readers especially liked for re-print here. I may also send out new posts every so often, some of which may include a free lesson. But in truth, you can only learn so much about somatic movement by reading about it. So this leads us to the paid levels.
PAID LEVELS
All paid subscriptions include a 7-day Free Trial.
The paid levels offer a way for me to create an online and ongoing program of study for you. I see this as an extension of my teaching practice. Over the years, I have taught group classes and workshops, but I have primarily worked with private students. Private lessons are one of the most powerful ways to study this movement method, but the cost can be prohibitive for many. To counter this, I developed some lesson mp3 collections and ebooks. These were well received, but they only represent the beginning of what ongoing study offers. So paid subscriptions provide a way for me to craft an ongoing course of study that, I hope, will be life-changing for many of you.
Each lesson that you will do here has been tested, first by research, then by years of teaching experience, and finally by me getting down on a mat and trying it out first. This planning process involves, on average, one to three hours of preparation for every lesson. This, by the way, does not factor in recording and editing time, which can add another two or more hours per podcast episode.
Monthly — 20$
Ultimately, I decided to base the monthly subscription price on the cost of attending a single group class. These generally fall around 20-25$. So for a 20$ monthly subscription fee, you will get a month’s worth of training at the cost of a single group lesson out there in the real world. I should probably also mention, that when people reach out to me to inquire about private study, I always ask for a one-month commitment.
It is possible, even likely, after one month, that you will feel good. But you may want to continue training—especially if the lessons are enriching your life beyond whatever issue got you started. But if you just need a place to check in for a month from time to time, I am confident I will be providing you with value.
Annual—200$
The annual subscription offers many advantages. The prorated cost of weekly training is about $4.60, and you will have access to the lesson library and comments. There are tremendous benefits associated with long-term training, so if you enjoy the lessons, I would strongly recommend you consider this option.
Founder—$600
The Founder’s Level is based on the cost of one month of private training. I offer this option as a further way to give you a sense of the value I am trying to provide here. Your pro-rated cost per lesson for one year would be about $11.50. If you are in a position to pay at that level and feel the lessons have enhanced your life, your support would be most welcome. You also have the option to offer a smaller amount, somewhere between the annual and founder’s levels, if that would be a more comfortable way for you to signal your support.
Are the lessons available right now?
Yes. The podcast launched on January 7, 2024. A new lesson is sent out weekly. You can find a complete list of all previously published lessons in the archive.
When you subscribe at any level right now, you will receive a welcome email. This email will include a link to a 30-minute mat lesson that you can do right away.
You might also check out some of the featured articles on the home page. These offer further insights into this training method. And the post titled: Want to Improve Your Body Knowledge? includes a short (5-minute) meditation-focused lesson that you can do right now. So what do you say? Why not pull up a mat and give it a try? You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.